Donegal moves to level five of country’s alert system
Cabinet ministers have agreed to level five restrictions from midnight on Wednesday in a bid to combat the rise in cases.
The restrictions are to last for six weeks but will be reviewed after four.
Under the rules, people will only be able to exercise within 5km (3 miles) of their home.
The government has confirmed there will be a penalty for travel beyond that distance, with exemptions for essential work and essential purposes.
However, schools and creches will remain open and elite sport and construction will continue.
The new rules are:
People are being asked to stay at home. Those who can work from home must do so
People will be able to meet up outdoors with one other household away from their home for the likes of exercise, within the 5km limit
No social or family gatherings are allowed in homes or gardens, but visits on compassionate grounds and for caring purposes can continue
Those living alone or parenting alone will be able to pair with another household as part of a “support bubble”.
Many non-essential shops and hairdressers will have to close
Bars and restaurants will only be able to provide a takeaway service
The number of wedding guests permitted will remain at 25 until the end of the year
Up to 10 mourners can attend a funeral
Elite sporting events can take place
Most manufacturing will remain open
In a televised address on Monday evening, Taoiseach Mícheál Martin said that despite having introduced what was probably “Europe’s strictest regime”, the current restrictions on their own had not been enough to significantly reduce levels of infection.
“2020 has been a hard year and we are not through it yet; families, individuals and front-line families have sacrificed so much,” he said.
However, he added that many people had done all that had been asked of them but some had not.
He said schools would remain open because “we cannot and will not allow our children and young people’s futures to be another victim of this disease”.
“I understand, and I feel very personally and profoundly, the sense of disappointment, the feelings of loneliness, perhaps even the despair that this announcement will bring for many,” he said.
“The days are getting shorter and colder but I ask you to remember this: even as the winter comes in, there is hope. And there is light.”
Mr Martin added that if everyone pulled together, the country would be able to celebrate Christmas “in a meaningful way”.
The Taoiseach said there would be advanced financial measures supporting businesses and individuals, as well as measures to support mental health.
The top rate of €350 (£318) a week for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be restored, with a sliding scale of payments depending on a person’s pre-pandemic income.
On Monday, the Irish Department of Health reported no further coronavirus-related deaths, with the total remaining at 1,852.
The total number of positive cases stands at 50,993, after a further 1,031 were recorded.
The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospitals has risen to 298 in the last 24 hours.
The move to level five follows a recommendation from the country’s Public Health Emergency Team.
Ministers rejected a similar recommendation less than a fortnight ago.
The Irish government published its five-stage plan for “living with Covid-19” in mid-September, which ranges from relaxed measures at level one to the most severe restrictions at level five.
At the time, the government said it was moving from a short-term emergency response to the pandemic to a medium-term approach which involved “managing risk” posed by the disease and repairing the damage it had inflicted on society.
Currently, most of the country is at the mid-way point on level three.
However, people in the border counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan have been living with level four restrictions since last Thursday.
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